Rand McNally Building
Encyclopedia
The Rand McNally Building (1889-1911), in Chicago
, was designed by Burnham and Root
and was the world's first all-steel framed skyscraper
.
The building was located at 160-174 Adams Street (on the south side between LaSalle and Wells) and also fronted #105-#119 on the backside (Quincy Street). It was erected in 1889 at a cost of $1 million. It had 10 stories, 16 stores, and 300 offices, but the main tenant was Rand, McNally
& Co., printers and publishers, with 900 employees. The general offices of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway were located here on the 2nd and 3rd floors, as were the headquarters of the World's Columbian Exposition
, on the 4th and 5th. The Long Distance Telephone Company (Quincy Street side) allowed patrons the ability to telephone New York City, a novelty at the time.
It was torn down in 1911 and a taller building of that era still stands on the site.
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, was designed by Burnham and Root
Burnham and Root
Burnham and Root was the name of the company that John Wellborn Root and Daniel Hudson Burnham established as one of Chicago's most famous architectural companies of the nineteenth century....
and was the world's first all-steel framed skyscraper
Skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
.
The building was located at 160-174 Adams Street (on the south side between LaSalle and Wells) and also fronted #105-#119 on the backside (Quincy Street). It was erected in 1889 at a cost of $1 million. It had 10 stories, 16 stores, and 300 offices, but the main tenant was Rand, McNally
Rand McNally
Rand McNally is an American publisher of maps, atlases, textbooks, and globes for travel, reference, commercial, and educational uses. It also provides online consumer street maps and directions, as well as commercial transportation routing software and mileage data...
& Co., printers and publishers, with 900 employees. The general offices of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway were located here on the 2nd and 3rd floors, as were the headquarters of the World's Columbian Exposition
World's Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition was a World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. Chicago bested New York City; Washington, D.C.; and St...
, on the 4th and 5th. The Long Distance Telephone Company (Quincy Street side) allowed patrons the ability to telephone New York City, a novelty at the time.
It was torn down in 1911 and a taller building of that era still stands on the site.